CH:10 Elections
Imagine that the following are the results from a Louisiana Senate race. Louisiana uses majority rule to determine the winner.• Anita Jones (R), 45 percent• Ben Watson (D), 40 percent• Zachary Smith (I), 15 percentBased on these results, who wins the race?
A winner cannot be determined now. There will be a runoff between Jones and Watson.
Which statement accurately characterizes the trend of campaign spending over time?
Campaign spending has increased over time.
Why do incumbents tend to win reelection so often?
Correct Answer(s) Challengers have difficulty communicating with voters. Incumbents are typically good politicians. Voters reward them for previous success. Incorrect Answer(s) Gerrymandered districts protect incumbents.
What changes did the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) make to campaign finance?
Correct Answer(s) It prohibited unlimited party spending. Incorrect Answer(s) It allowed corporations to make unlimited contributions. It limited individual contributions to $1,000 per candidate. It created the Federal Election Commission (FEC).Correct Answer(s) It prohibited unlimited party spending. Incorrect Answer(s) It allowed corporations to make unlimited contributions. It limited individual contributions to $1,000 per candidate. It created the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
What effect does plurality rule, along with single-member districts, have on electoral outcomes?
Correct Answer(s) It tends to overrepresent the largest party. It tends to yield results that do not reflect the public's preferences. It tends to result in vote wasting. Incorrect Answer(s) It tends to overrepresent the smallest party.
Which demographic groups are more likely to support the Democratic Party?
Correct Answer(s) Latinos African Americans Incorrect Answer(s) whites men
Which of the following statements about predictions for the 2016 elections are accurate?
Correct Answer(s) Pollsters correctly predicted that Clinton would win the popular vote. Economic models correctly predicted a close race. Incorrect Answer(s) Pollsters were off the most in states with large populations of white working-class voters. Pollsters did not capture the enthusiasm of Trump voters.
Which of the following statements about the 2018 election are accurate?
Correct Answer(s) Republicans expanded their control in the Senate. Democrats established a solid majority in the House. Incorrect Answer(s) Republican candidates picked up more contested governor's seats than Democrats did. The Senate map favored the Democrats.
Which of the following statements about voter registration are accurate?
Correct Answer(s) Requiring people to register in order to vote reduces turnout rates. Voter registration laws in the United States have generally gotten looser over time. Incorrect Answer(s) Most American states automatically register citizens to vote. Voter registration lists do nothing to help election administration.
How does the voting-age baseline for calculating turnout differ from the voting-eligible baseline?
Correct Answer(s) Voting-age turnout is more easily calculated. Voting-age turnout understates the true turnout rate. Incorrect Answer(s) Voting-age turnout does not include people who lost voting rights. Voting-age turnout does not include noncitizens.
Which of the following people would have been allowed to vote in the 1790s?
Correct Answer(s) a 23-year-old white man Incorrect Answer(s) a 45-year-old black man a 19-year-old black woman a 63-year-old white woman
Which of the following demographic characteristics are the two strongest predictors of who votes?
Correct Answer(s) age education Incorrect Answer(s) race gender
Of the following redistricting constraints, which two must be met for a map to pass the minimum standard?
Correct Answer(s) contiguity equal population Incorrect Answer(s) racial equality partisan fairness
Maria is using prospective voting to decide whether to vote to reelect a sitting president or to vote for the other party's challenger. What information will she use to make her choice?
Correct Answer(s) how she thinks the state of the country will improve in the next administration Incorrect Answer(s) whether she agrees with the president's previous work on equal pay whether she prefers the president's religious views over the challenger's how the economy did during the president's previous term in office
What are two factors that make the campaign season in America so long?
Correct Answer(s) loose campaign finance regulations party primary elections Incorrect Answer(s) no limits on the number of candidates
It was abnormal for the Republican Party to lose seats in the 2018 midterm elections.
False
Most campaigns for Congress are run by the national parties to ensure that the candidates support the party platform.
False
Split-ticket voting was more common before the advent of the Australian ballot.
False
While members of the ______ each represent about the same number of constituents, members of the _____ represent widely different numbers of constituents.
House Senate
Analyze the following table and answer the question. How did the turnout in 2018 compare to previous midterm election turnouts?
It was higher than usual
How was the 2016 presidential election influenced by party factions?
The election exposed factional divisions in both the Democratic and Republican Party coalitions
When a governor is removed from office by the voters before the end of his or her term, which of the following has occurred?
a recall
The agency approach focuses on elections as a means to control politicians, while the consentapproach focuses on elections as a means of justifying governance by politicians.
agency consent
Match the following demographic groups to their general propensity for voting.
less likely to votePress Space to open Correct label: people without a high school diploma Correct label: people who rent Correct label: people aged 18-25 more likely to votePress Space to open Correct label: people with a college degree Correct label: people who own homes Correct label: people age 65 and older
Today, a state's number of votes in the Electoral College is determined by its number of ______, with electors chosen by ______.
members of Congress popular vote
Direct democracy allows voters the opportunity to directly translate their preferences into government policy. Match the following characteristics to the correct form of direct democracy: ballot initiative, referendum, or both.
often involves emotional issuesboth Correct label: both allows citizens to place proposed laws directly on the ballotballot initiative Correct label: ballot initiative occurs when a state legislature refers laws to voters for popular votereferendum Correct label: referendum is permitted in only 24 statesballot initiative Correct label: ballot initiative
Low-information voters tend to rely on _____, while high-information voters tend to rely on _____.
party cues issues
Which factor is the strongest predictor of how someone will vote?
party identification
Which form of electoral system is most common in the United States?
plurality system
Match the U.S. Supreme Court case to the effect it had on campaign spending.
prohibited the government from restricting independent expenditures by corporationsCitizens United v. FEC (2010) Correct label: Citizens United v. FEC (2010) introduced the idea that campaign contributions count as speechBuckley v. Valeo (1974) Correct label: Buckley v. Valeo (1974) led to the emergence of Super PACsCitizens United v. FEC (2010) Correct label: Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
Which term is used to describe the drawing of congressional districts in response to population changes?
redistricting
Candidate campaigns are mostly temporary; party campaign organizations are stable.
temporary stable
Which reform led to the largest increase in the size of the population eligible to vote?
the nineteenth amendment, granting all adult women the right to vote
Why have most major-party candidates declined federal funding for their presidential campaigns recently?
they could raise and spend far more money on their own
Countries with plurality rule in single-member districts tend to have -_____, while countries with proportional representation tend to have ______.
two party systems multiparty systems
How effective are voter ID laws, according to political scientists, and what are their impacts? Indicate whether voter ID laws have minimal or substantial effects on the following issues.
voters' confidence in the electoral systemminimal effects Correct label: minimal effects voter fraud in electionsminimal effects Correct label: minimal effects voter turnoutminimal effects Correct label: minimal effects
What information does a voter primarily rely on when casting an issue vote?
whether she likes recent government actions
Match the following campaign styles to the appropriate characteristics.
works best for reaching large numbers of voterstechnology driven Correct label: technology driven works best in smaller constituenciesin-person campaigning Correct label: in-person campaigning builds personal connections with votersin-person campaigning Correct label: in-person campaigning